Coated fabrics which have been used in air bags are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,458 to Acs in which a nylon fabric or fiber glass is coated with aluminumized neoprene. U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,735 to Bloch describes an air bag for a motor vehicle which is constructed of shrinkable and thermofixable synthetic fibers such as polyester, aramid, polyphenylene sulfide and polyimide. The air bag is made exclusively of synthetic fibers having a super-filled weave and is resistant to aging, decay and can be packed tightly without danger of adjacent layers sticking to each other. U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,418 to Thornton, et al., discloses that low permeability fabrics used in air bags are conventionally made of nylon or polyester which has been coated with neoprene, urethane or silicone resin, even though the coating necessarily increases the thickness, stiffness and cost of the cloth while reducing its flexibility, tear strength and shelf-life as the coatings tend to degrade over time.
One of the disadvantages of using coated fabrics in the construction of air bags is that they have a tendency to self adhere when folded very compactly over a period of time. In order to reduce the tendency of the air bag to adhere to itself, it is necessary to treat the rubberized surface with talcum powder to keep the adjacent rubberized surfaces from adhering to one another over a period of time. However, when the air bag is required to perform and unfold explosively, the talcum powder is blown into the air where it can penetrate into the eyes and breathing passages of the passengers, with obvious adverse effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,097 to Honma et al., describes a base fabric for an air bag coated with a silicone rubber, in which the surface of a fabric comprised of a polyamide fiber or polyester fiber is coated with a thermosetting organopolysiloxane product comprised of an unvulcanized organopolysiloxane rubber containing 2 or more alkenyl groups in a molecule, silica in the form of a fine powder, an organopolysiloxane containing at least 5 silicon atoms in the main chain and further containing 1 or more trialkoxysilyl groups, bonded with a silicon atom through a carbon atom, 1 or more epoxyalkyl groups and 3 or more hydrogen atoms bonded with a silicon atom, a catalyst for the hydrosilylation reaction and an organic solvent and thereafter the coating is heated to harden the organopolysiloxane product.
Compositions for rendering surfaces of substrates, such as polyolefin, polyester and regenerated cellulose films abhesive are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,443 to Brown et al, in which a composition containing a hydroxy terminated diorganopolysiloxane, an organohydrogenpolysiloxane and a platinum complex containing halides and a ligand or donor group is applied to the substrate and then cured by heating.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,485 to Kodama et al., describes an organopolysiloxane composition which imparts flame retardancy to glass cloths, glass mats and glass sleeves comprising a dimethylpolysiloxane, an organohydrogenpolysiloxane, a silica filler, zinc carbonate, ceric oxide and a platinum compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,317 to Wolfer et al., describes compositions which can be cross-linked to form flame retardant organopolysiloxane elastomers containing diorganopolysiloxanes having dimethylsiloxane units and methylvinylsiloxane units, a metal oxide selected from titanium dioxide, zirconium dioxide, Ce(III) oxide, Ce(IV) oxide, platinum compound, an organosilicon compound containing a basic nitrogen bonded via carbon to silicon. These compositions may be cross-linked by the addition of silicon bonded hydrogen to aliphatic carbon-carbon multiple bonds.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a coated fabric which may be used to form an air bag. Another object of the present invention is to provide a coated fabric which may be folded up very compactly without the interleaved surfaces adhering to each other. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a coated fabric which has flame retardant properties. A further object of the present invention is to provide a coated fabric which maintains its strength after prolonged storage.